The MLB 2024 season has officially drawn to a close. Here at Bear Sports News, i thought it’d be fun to release our first annual 2024 Bear Awards for this years top players. The awards include will include all of the awards that the MLB hands out but instead of gold gloves, they are the gold bear paws because this is Bear Sports News after all. We will also be including the All-Bear 1st and 2nd team in this story as well.

Awards that will be handed out in this post

• MVP
• Rookie of the Year
• Manager of the Year
• Cy Young
• All-MLB Team (1st and 2nd)
• Gold Bear Paw
• Silver Slugger
• Comeback Player of the Year

Most Valuable Player

National League MVP: Shohei Ohtani DH – LAD

Ohtani’s 2024 Stats – 636 AB, 197 H, 54 HR, .310 BA, 130 RBI, 59 SB, .390 OBP, .646 SLG, 1.036 OPS

Despite him not being able to pitch this season due to his recovery from injury, he still had a remarkable season at the DH position. Ohtani was the first player in MLB history to complete the first 50-50 season, which is a very remarkable feat no matter who you are a fan of. Ohtani led the league in Runs and Total Bases and came in second place in RBI, HR, OPS, and SB. His most remarkable play this season was a walk-off grand slam against the Rays, which was his 40th HR of the season at the time. This is why he is the obvious choice for the first-ever Bear Sports NL MVP!

American League MVP: Aaron Judge CF – NYY

Judge’s 2024 stats – 559 AB, 180 H, 58 HR, .322 BA, 144 RBI, .458 OBP, .701 SLG, 1.159 OPS, 1.000 Field%

ALL RISE! Aaron Judge is your first-ever Bear Sports News AL MVP. Aaron Judge, not only had an amazing season at the plate, he also didn’t let a ball drop or get past him during the regular season, which is why he deserves the award. Aaron Judge who led the league in RBI, HR, and OPS, he also ranked second in TB’s and third in AVG. Aaron Judge is also responsible for the third-longest home run hit this season at 477’ feet. Aaron Judge is truly deserving of this award on Bear Sports News and in the MLB.

Rookie of the Year

NL ROY – Paul Skenes SP – PIT

Skenes 2024 stats – 11-3, 1.96 ERA, 133 IP, 170 SO, 0.94 WHIP

Paul Skenes is the most obvious pick for the NL ROY, Skenes in his rookie year, started the All-Star Game, and having a WHIP of below 1 this season. Skenes fell about 30 innings short of qualifying for the ERA title, but his 1.96 ERA was the lowest of any pitcher with at least 120 innings this season. His 33.1% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate yield a 26.8 K-BB% that stands as the second-best ever for a rookie pitcher with at least 120 innings. I can go on and on about Skenes and his historic season but that could be a story for another day this offseason, but until then, congratulations to Paul Skenes for his NL ROY!

AL ROY – Luis Gil SP – NYY

Gil’s 2024 stats – 15-7, 3.50 ERA, 151.2 IP, 171 SO, 1.19 WHIP

Gil was named American League Pitcher of the Month after winning all six of his May starts. He also broke Orlando Hernández’s record for the most strikeouts by a Yankees rookie in a game, with 14 against the Chicago White Sox on May 18. Gil who was brought in for a injured Gerritt Cole who was injured in spring training, he pitched well for the first two months and had a bit of a dip but was able to bounce back and tied for the most wins among all rookies.

Manager of the Year

NL MOY – Pat Murphy MIL

93-69, 1st place NL Central, 777 runs, 641 runs allowed, 39 comeback wins, 180 days in first place

In his first season with the Brewers, Murphy did a whole lot of winning, leading the Brewers to 93 wins, and staying in 1st place for 180 days, which isn’t easy in this league, but despite that, the games that they we’re down in, they we’re always able to answer back as 39 of their wins came from them being behind in the box score, Pat Murphy wasn’t able to lead the Brewers to a World Series but we are talking about his regular season performance, and that was outstanding, he gets a huge A+ in my book, and the first NL BSN-MOY award.

AL MOY – Matt Quatro KC

86-76, 2nd place AL Central, 735 runs, 644 runs allowed, 39 comeback wins, 10 days in first place

In my opinion, this season that Matt Quatro helped the Royals get to, is very impressive, Matt Quatro at times, was in striking distance of 1st place at times but was never able to get anything solid going, but despite that, in his second year was able to lead the Royals to the postseason and a above .500 season, a major turn around from their previous season, which is why in my book, he’s very deserving of the award.

Comeback Player of the Year

NL CPOY – Chris Sale ATL

18-3, 2.38 ERA, 225 K, 177.2 IP, 1.01 WHIP

Chris Sale hasn’t pitched more then 25 games in a single season since 2019. In 2020 and most of 2021, he didn’t play due to injury, then a broken wrist in 2022, then a shoulder injury in 2023, 4 straight seasons dealing with injuries so this season had to be big for him. Chris Sale did more then impress, he exceeded my expectations farther then i could ever expect. He ranked first in wins, and second in strikeouts. Which i personally think he could’ve beaten if he didn’t unfortunately suffer another injury towards the end of the season. Despite all his injuries in the past years, he showed everyone that he is still one of the best pitchers in the league, and he will continue to dominate.

AL CPOY – Tyler O’Neill BOS

411 AB, 99 H, 31 HR, .241 BA, 61 RBI, .336 OBP, .511 SLG, .847 OPS, 4 SB

Tyler O’Neill has battled tons of injuries in his seven year career, Tyler O’Neil who hadn’t played over 100 games since 2021, finally approached that number this season and was able to provide very similar stats to those in 2021, which was good enough to land him eighth in the AL MVP Voting. O’Neill will be another solid add to any lineup when he is set to hit free agency, but until then, congratulations to Tyler for a amazing season, despite some injuries he faced in the 2024 season.

Cy Young

NL Cy Young – Chris Sale ATL

18-3, 2.38 ERA, 225 K, 177.2 IP, 1.01 WHIP

Rehabbing injuries for the past four years and coming back to have a Cy Young season, that’s exactly what Chris Sale did, as mentioned in his CPOY award, he faced multiple problems these past couple of seasons but was able to put all that behind him, to be considered one of best pitchers this season, is worthy enough for his first BSN Cy Young award, Chris Sale was just on a different level this season, giving the Braves just enough gas to make it into the postseason. Congratulations to Chris Sale for a record breaking season!

AL Cy Young – Tarik Skubal DET

18-4, 2.39 ERA, 228 K, 192 IP, 0.92 WHIP

Tarik Skubal had himself a memorable season, his best since entering the league in 2020 with the Tigers, Skubal really found his form this season, adding over 60+ strikeouts to his former career high this season, which was previously 164 in 2021. Skubal was able to come up in big moments for the Tigers which helped them to a spot in the postseason, but despite that, Skubal tied with Chris Sale on wins for the season and has the most strikeouts amongst all MLB pitchers in 2024, Skubal is 100% deserving of the award.

Gold Bear Paws

American League:

Pitcher: Cole Ragans – Kansas City Royals – 16-9, 3.14 ERA, 186.1 IP, 223 SO

Catcher: Cal Raleigh – Seattle Mariners – .220 AVG, 100 RBI, 34 HR

First Base: Ryan Mountcastle – Baltimore Orioles – .271 AVG, 63 RBI, 13 HR, .997 FLD%

Second Base: Marcus Semien – Texas Rangers – .237 AVG, 74 RBI, 23 HR, .989 FLD%

Shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr – Kansas City Royals – .332 AVG, 109 RBI, 32 HR, .974 FLD%

Third Base: Jose Ramirez – Cleveland Guardians – .279 AVG, 118 RBI, 39 HR, .971 FLD%

Left Field: Steven Kwan – Cleveland Guardians – .292 AVG, 44 RBI, 14 HR, .994 FLD%

Center Field: Jarren Duran – Boston Red Sox – .285 AVG, 75 RBI, 21 HR, .963 FLD%

Right Field: Juan Soto – New York Yankees – .288 AVG, 109 RBI, 41 HR, 1.000 FLD%

National League

Pitcher: Chris Sale – Atlanta Braves – 18-3, 2.38 ERA, 225 K, 177.2 IP, 1.01 WHIP

Catcher: Gabriel Moreno – Arizona Diamondbacks – .266 AVG, 45 RBI, 5 HR, .997 FLD%

First Base: Christian Walker – Arizona Diamondbacks – .251 AVG, 84 RBI, 26 HR, .998 FLD%

Second Base: Ketel Marte – Arizona Diamondbacks – .292 AVG, 95 RBI, 36 HR, .990 FLD%

Shortstop: Ezequiel Tovar – Colorado Rockies – .269 AVG, 78 RBI, 26 HR, .988 FLD%

Third Base: Nolan Arenado – St.Louis Cardinals – .272 AVG, 71 RBI, 16 HR, .977 FLD%

Left Field: Ian Happ – Chicago Cubs – .243 AVG. 86 RBI, 25 HR, .997 FLD%

Center Field: Blake Perkins – Milwaukee Brewers – .240 AVG, 43 RBI, 6 HR, .990 FLD%

Right Field: Jake Mccarthy – Arizona Diamondbacks – .285 AVG, 56 RBI, 8 HR, 990 FLD%

Silver Slugger:

American League:

Aaron Judge – .322 BA, 144 RBI, 58 HR, 1.000 FLD%

National League:

Ketel Marte – .292 AVG, 95 RBI, 36 HR, .990 FLD%

Bear Sports News 1st All-MLB Team

SP1- Chris Sale

SP2- Tarik Skubal

SP3- Zach Wheeler

SP4- Dylan Cease

SP5- Cole Ragans

1B- Vladimir Guerrero Jr

2B- Ketel Marte

3B- Jose Ramirez

SS- Bobby Witt Jr

LF- Juan Soto

CF- Aaron Judge

RF- Anthony Santander

DH- Shohei Ohtani

C- William Contreas

Bear Sports News All MLB 2nd Team

SP1- Logan Gilbert

SP2- Garrett Crochet

SP3- Yusei Kikuchi

SP4- Sonny Gray

SP5- Michael King

1B- Bryce Harper

2B- Jose Altuve

3B- Eugenio Suarez

SS- Gunnar Henderson

LF- Brent Rooker

CF- Jarren Duran

RF- Nick Castellanos

DH- Marcell Ozuna

C- Salvador Perez